Louisiana Legends Fishing Report

⚓ Deep Jigging

• ▶ 22:13Work the ledge where it drops from 15ft to 25ft. Park the boat in ~22ft and work the drop-off. Focus on defined points and bends along the MRGO. Daniel Kelly
• ▶ 22:36Use side scan to find bait and life on the ledge. If you don't see anything worth stopping for, keep scanning and moving. Daniel Kelly
• ▶ 57:06Lightest jig head possible. Fish shouldn't feel anything different than natural bait. At bridges, 3/8 oz standard; half-ounce only when current is ripping. Will Grand
• ▶ 29:38When current is ripping at bridges, fish bite on slack. The bite feels like 'it just gets heavy' on the upswing. Very subtle -- most people miss these. Ben LaVergne
• ▶ 34:09Fish one cast per piling on bridges. Catch any fish present, then move to the next piling. Don't linger. Ben LaVergne
• ▶ 35:53First and last pilings in a set tend to be most productive. Ben LaVergne
• ▶ 11:19Cast to the down-current side of bridge pilings. Spot-lock with nose at the pole, cast along each side and work it back through the current. Will Grand
• ▶ 22:18At Highway 11, fish can be 10-30 yards OFF the bridge on submerged structure (old fallen bridge sections), not just tight to pilings. Will Grand
• ▶ 32:58Causeway jigging is methodical. Fish each side of piles, north to south. Bites happen in spurts. Cliff Hall
• ▶ 0:00Deep holes in MRGO: Fish areas close to holes where fish access shallow flats to feed then retreat to deep water for warmth. MRGO Episode
• ▶ 14:02Position boat against the shoreline and cast up the ledge, let the bait fall down the drop on the retrieve. Stanley Fink
• Team JoJo MRGO system: cast to a 5-foot circle on the ledge -- if nothing within 5 casts, move 50 yards. Methodical, no lingering. ▶ Watch Team JoJo

◠ Cast Angle & Boat Direction

• When you're not getting bites at bridges, reverse your drift direction before giving up. Try working north (casting down-current) then flip and work south (casting up-current). One direction often produces; the other gets nothing. ▶ Watch Chas Champagne
• The angle at which the bait sweeps past a piling determines whether it's in the strike zone. Boat position matters as much as lure choice. ▶ Watch Causeway Episode
• Trolling speed at Causeway: 1.7--1.8 mph for paddle tails. Too slow = no action, too fast = unnatural. Trolling is productive when jigging fails and can produce the biggest trout of the day. ▶ Watch Stanley Fink / Causeway Episode

🚶 Wade Fishing

• Venice wade fishing: enter the water in the dark (3am launch), position on structure before legal shooting light. The fish don't know you're there. Motor noise is the biggest bite-killer. ▶ Watch Harold Wilcox
• For big trout wading: slow down completely. One step, pause, one cast, pause. Fast movement pushes fish off the flat. The angler who slows down most finds the trophy. ▶ Watch Harold Wilcox
• Sharks are a real hazard wading Venice. Stay aware of water clarity, avoid bleeding fish on your stringer, and have an exit plan. Harold Wilcox has had multiple close encounters. ▶ Watch
• ▶ 11:14Wade fish Chandeleur flats looking for contours, depth changes, and bait. Use Navionics. Even a 2-3 inch depth change matters. Cliff Hall

⚪ Drop Shot

• Drop shot keeps the bait at a precise depth above structure. Especially effective in winter when fish are suspended just above the bottom in 15-25ft MRGO channels. ▶ Watch Team JoJo
• Use a Rucker Rig instead of a traditional drop shot for trout. Designed specifically for inshore -- hook orientation and bead keep the plastic elevated and spinning naturally. ▶ Watch John Rucker

➚ Jerkbaits

• ▶ 16:4217 MirrOdine is a go-to 'fish-finding' bait. Let it sink long, twitch it fast, or do many things with it on the rocks. Cliff Hall
• ▶ 109:28Sometimes fish want it twitched almost like a topwater -- barely 6 inches under the surface with small quick twitches. A novice accidentally did this and out-fished the expert. Cliff Hall
• ▶ 31:42Fish jerkbaits at defined points and bends along rock walls in the MRGO and ICW. Daniel Kelly
• ▶ 27:00On shallow flats (3-5 ft), use fluke-style baits weightless or on very light screw-lock jig heads (1/16 - 1/8 oz). Slack-pop-slack-pop retrieves are deadly. Daniel Kelly, Cliff Hall

🌊 Topwater

• ▶ 37:36Target big trout on topwater in shallow (3-5 ft) grass flats with overcast skies, incoming tide, and southeast wind. Cliff Hall
• ▶ 11:30Big spooks cast as far as possible with light braid (10 lb) on spinning reels in windy conditions. Wind at your back for distance. Cliff Hall
• ▶ 68:20Pre-front, cloudy, windy days with building southeast wind are prime topwater days -- trout literally come out of the water chasing bait. Ben LaVergne
• ▶ 69:15Size down the topwater as winter progresses -- smaller one-knocker style baits in late winter vs. larger baits in Nov/Dec. Ben LaVergne

⚪ Popping Cork

• ▶ 34:55Let it sit -- in Lake Pontchartrain, throwing a popping cork with a Marker 54 and just letting it sit without working it produced fish after fish. Cliff Hall
• ▶ 6:04Marker 54 (Matrix Shad color) is a universal producer under a cork. Justin Bordelon

🚢 Trolling Squid Rigs

• ▶ 1:00Stanley Fink's technique: Troll squid rigs close to pilings in the ICW/bridges. Must have at least one chartreuse squid -- it 'calls them up.' Stanley Fink
• ▶ 59:10Christmas tree rig (multiple squid like an Alabama rig) can produce multiple hookups but is difficult to manage. Stanley Fink

🦐 Live Bait

• ▶ 17:29Live shrimp outperforms artificials at certain ICW spots -- your buddy with live shrimp will have a two-to-three-man limit per hour. Daniel Kelly
• ▶ 34:36At offshore rigs, live bait keeps fish fired up and holds them at structure. If someone shows up with live shrimp, they can pull the school from you. Will Grand
• ▶ 30:02Carolina rigs and sliding corks with live shrimp for offshore rig fishing. Focus on islands during strong tide days, platforms during lighter tide days. Will Grand

🎣 Soft Plastics

🔥 Hard Baits

• ▶ 11:32Rapala jerkbaits for MRGO rocks and channels. Drew Necaise
• ▶ 10:38Hardbaits preferred over Corkies by most anglers. Corkies work better on hard sand bottoms in 1-3 ft of water. Drew Necaise, Cliff Hall
• ▶ 69:27One-knocker style small topwaters for late winter shallow fishing. Ben LaVergne
• ▶ 16:4217 MirrOdine -- the workhorse jerkbait for rocks and structure. Cliff Hall
• Rapala X-Wrap in mullet color at South Pass jetty (Venice). Match the massive mullet schools present in summer/fall -- 3-inch paddle tails get short-struck when bait is that large. ▶ Watch Harold Wilcox

🎣 Rods

⚙ Reels

• Baitcaster for jigging deep water
• Spinning for topwater and jerkbaits -- maximizes casting distance, especially into wind
• Left-hand retrieve baitcasters common in Louisiana -- dominant hand works rod action
• ▶ 16:27Daiwa Coastal reels are popular Drew Necaise
• Shimano Metanium DC baitcaster for precision long casts at bridge pilings -- the DC braking system eliminates wind knots even in gusty conditions. ▶ Watch Causeway Episode

⤴ Line

🔧 Field Preparation

• Pre-rig 6-8 spare jig heads the night before. In a hot bite you lose 20 seconds re-rigging every fish -- pre-rigged spares let you swap instantly and keep fishing while the school is active. ▶ Watch Bridges Episode
• Practice the FG knot until you can tie it in the dark. It's the strongest braid-to-fluoro connection and the smallest profile -- critical for long leaders that pass through guides repeatedly. ▶ Watch Harold Wilcox

🌡 Temperature Thresholds

🌎 Annual Trout Migration Circuit (Lake Pontchartrain)

📅 Seasonal Calendar

🌊 Tides

• ▶ 13:06Incoming tide preferred for shallow flats -- fish push further back, become more aggressive. Southeast wind enhances this.
• ▶ 11:02Moving water is essential at bridges -- incoming or outgoing, just need current flowing. Daniel Kelly, Will Grand
• ▶ 37:29Ben LaVergne prefers outgoing at bridges -- more fish on falling, though bigger fish on incoming. Ben LaVergne
• ▶ 27:01Strong tide days: Fish islands. Light tide days: Fish platforms. Will Grand

🌀 Wind & Sky

• ▶ 12:49Southeast wind is golden for east side fishermen -- pushes water in, warms flats, creates ideal conditions. Cliff Hall
• ▶ 70:50Wind breaks up the "silence" -- masks boat noise, allows longer casts, big fish hit immediately on distant casts. Ben LaVergne
• ▶ 4:58Wind determines where the clean water is and limits where you can go, especially in winter. Will Grand
• Overcast consistently preferred by nearly all anglers for trout. Better topwater conditions, fish less skittish.

🌊 River Level & Spillway Effects

• ▶ 6:50Bonnet Carre Spillway open = bad for trout and flounder. Fresh water kills salinity, pushes bait out, and suppresses the fishery for months. Landry Kirk
• Extended spillway closure (5-6 years) led to a massive flounder comeback in Lake Borgne and Proctor's Point. Salinity recovery directly drives fish population recovery. ▶ Watch
• When the spillway stays closed, Pontchartrain salinity climbs -- this concentrates bait and improves trout and flounder fishing dramatically. Check USGS river stage data before planning trips. ▶ Watch
• Proposed river diversions will permanently alter Louisiana's inshore fisheries. Chris Macaluso breaks down the data -- diversions lower salinity in affected areas, devastating adult trout and flounder fishing. ▶ Watch

• ▶ 1:04Kill the motor 150-200 yards minimum from shallow spots. Sound and vibration spook big fish. Drew Necaise
• ▶ 0:58Big fish are very spook-able in shallow water -- even the splash of a jig head will scatter them. Drew Necaise
• ▶ 50:08"Come in soft and gentle" -- the #1 complaint is boats rolling up hot with two-strokes, no trolling motors, and heavy anchors crashing down. Ben LaVergne
• ▶ 59:31If someone rolls up respectfully (comes off plane, trolls in), share what you're throwing and how. If they come in hot, they've burned the spot. Drew Necaise
• ▶ 10:06Wait 10-15 minutes after a boat disturbs your area -- the fish will come back. Ben LaVergne

🗺 Scouting & Preparation

• ▶ 2:44Google Earth scouting is essential -- pinpoint 5-10 spots, plan the night before, go try them. Catching nothing is still success because you learned where NOT to fish. Daniel Kelly
• ▶ 20:24Use Google Earth historical imagery to see how structure, grass, and water depth have changed over time. Cliff Hall
• ▶ 59:46Navionics contour maps change the game on islands and flats -- even a 2-3 inch depth change matters when wade fishing. Cliff Hall
• Modus fishing maps for Venice nearshore. Best real-time bottom maps for the Venice area -- updated, shows structure that NOAA charts miss. Harold Wilcox uses them for The Jump and South Pass positioning. ▶ Watch
• Videos have a 6-week publication lag. Chas Champagne deliberately delays releases 5-6 weeks. Subtract 6 weeks from the publish date to find when conditions actually occurred -- use that seasonal window next year. ▶ Watch Chas Champagne

🧠 Mindset

• ▶ 17:51Tackle doesn't matter as much as finding fish. Focus on location first, then dial in presentation. Cliff Hall
• ▶ 89:06Don't judge your success by social media reports -- people posting 50-fish days have had hundreds of tough trips behind them. Will Grand
• ▶ 4:58The old man in the 14-foot flat boat -- never underestimate local knowledge. Some of the best anglers fish basic rigs from basic boats. Cliff Hall
• Stop overthinking color. Chas Champagne: "A lot of fishermen get way too detailed on why the fish are doing what they're doing. They'll change colors a hundred times sitting on no fish." Either they're there and feeding or they're not. ▶ Watch

⏰ Timing & Patterns

• ▶ 22:36State records were mostly caught around full moons -- target trophy fish during full moon windows, especially Jan-Feb at Highway 11. Will Grand
• ▶ 24:05Fish patterns repeat: Mullet run through at a set time, pogies follow, dolphins behind them, redfish behind the dolphins. Learn the clock. Drew Necaise
• ▶ 18:39Match the hatch: If pogies are 6-8 inches, your 3-inch paddle tail will get short-struck. Switch to a matching-size hardbait. Drew Necaise

🌙 Night Fishing

• ▶ 24:38At night under dock lights: First cast often produces. Grand Isle neighborhoods can yield limits of trout and redfish from a single dock light. Will Grand

🌊 The Pogey (Menhaden) Industry

• Industrial purse-seining of menhaden (pogies) is removing the primary food source of trophy trout. Big trout don't eat shrimp -- they eat pogies. Remove the pogies and the trophy fishery collapses. ▶ Watch
• The pogey industry operates legally but at a scale that competes directly with sport fishing. One purse seine boat can remove millions of baitfish per set. ▶ Watch

☃ Diversions & Hydrology

• Proposed Mid-Barataria and Mid-Breton diversions will permanently lower salinity in core inshore fishing areas. Chris Macaluso explains: diversions are designed for land-building but will shift the fishery toward freshwater species in affected areas. ▶ Watch
• Dredging and sediment disposal also alter bottom structure and salinity gradients. The combination creates cumulative habitat change that fish biology can't rapidly adapt to. ▶ Watch

🐟 Voluntary Release & Harvest Ethics

• ▶ 8:25Release trout over 20 inches. These are the breeding females. Every trophy you keep removes disproportionate genetic value from the fishery. Cliff Hall, Chris Bush
• Chris Bush makes the conservation case directly with data. The Speckled Truth movement shows that voluntary release of large trout measurably improves the fishery within years, not decades. ▶ Watch
• Calcasieu Lake is a case study in what overharvest looks like. Jeremy Waltrip documents how a world-class trout fishery declined after decades of high harvest combined with habitat stress. ▶ Watch
• Ty Hibbs on what comes next. Advocates for consistent statewide slot limits, science-based management, and reducing recreational bycatch. ▶ Watch

🌍 Marsh Loss

• Delacroix is subsiding and disappearing in real time. Stanley Fink has watched fishing areas he's known for 40 years go underwater. The marsh loss is documented, accelerating, and irreversible without major intervention. ▶ Watch

🎣 Seabrook Structure Fishing (Josh Hall)

• ▶ WatchThree-rod Seabrook setup. Run three spinning rods rigged with 3-Way / three-sound jig heads in various colors, plus one dedicated spinning rod with a Rucker Rig (3-ft leader, 1/16 oz sock-leg jig head + TKO shrimp). Throw a jerkbait in 5–8 ft zones when fish are active on top.
• ▶ WatchRucker Rig evolution. Originally a 5-ft Carolina rig with a 1/16 oz sock-leg jig and a Fluke Junior or finesse minnow. Evolved to a 3-ft leader with a TKO shrimp, which is now the dominant setup. You cannot deny that it works.
• ▶ WatchFish the structure, not just the birds. When shrimp appear at Seabrook, focus on all the structure around the area, not just the water directly under the birds. The bigger fish hold on specific pieces of structure.

🍽 Redfish Sight-Fishing (Josh Hall)

• ▶ WatchThrow at spooked, running redfish anyway. Don't give up when reds blow up and run. A Hail Mary cast at a fleeing fish will sometimes make it turn and eat. Josh has had fish rip the lure on what looked like a hopeless cast — always make the throw.

🎯 Trophy Trout Strategy — Lake Pontchartrain (Josh Hall)

• ▶ WatchTarget quality over quantity. Deliberately seek slot-size and 3+ lb trout rather than chasing fish counts. Bigger trout hold a specific position and don't travel much — find their exact lie. 16.5 lbs of quality fish beats 25 fish at 14 lbs total in any meaningful context.

⚓ Causeway Patterns (Josh Hall)

• ▶ WatchThe causeway takes time to decode. Watch Chas Champagne's causeway instructional video repeatedly, then go out and grind until the patterns click. Josh watched it a hundred times and still blanked many trips before it all made sense. Persistence is the only shortcut.

🐟 Mullet Line — Gulf Open Water (Sammy Romano)

• ▶ WatchFind the SOURCE of the mullet wave, not the middle of it. When you spot a 500-yard mullet school doing the crowd wave, locate the front edge — that is where trout are actively feeding on the outside, pushing bait. Drop a Mirror Lure anywhere in that line. When bait is thick enough, expect mixed 3–4 lb trout and bull reds simultaneously.

🌘 Winter Fishery — Third Bay at Point La Hash (Sammy Romano)

• ▶ WatchCatch trout, redfish, and bass all on one jerkbait. Third Bay at Point La Hash is a classic winter spot where 3–5 lb trout are the norm. You can catch all three species on the same jerkbait. One of Sammy's go-to winter fisheries when conditions are right.

🗻 Shag's Tackle — Local Knowledge Hub (Sammy Romano)

• ▶ WatchSeabrook is a quick-hit morning spot for working locals. Fish Seabrook first thing and be back at work by 10 a.m. — it delivers fast results without a long run.
• ▶ WatchShag's Tackle (Kenner) moving to a new, larger location on Airline Hwy. Open since 1987, founded by Ray. Carries saltwater gear, archery, and Louisiana-specific tackle. Better parking and a wider archery range at the new spot.